What it is: a richly detailed historical mystery set in first-century Rome that's narrated by clever, funny informer (i.e. detective) Flavia Albia and involves a love potion, a murder, a witch, and a missing husband.

Series alert: This is the 6th amusing Flavia Albia novel, though Flavia does sometimes makes an appearance in Lindsey Davis' 20 Marcus Didius Falco mysteries, which feature Flavia's adoptive father.

The first line: "When my husband's ex-wife came offering me work, I knew she was up to something."

What happens: In 1928 London, Daisy Dalrymple -- royal relative, stepmother of a teen, mother of young twins, and wife of a Scotland Yard detective -- plans an outing to the city's breathtaking Crystal Palace. But it all goes awry when Daisy finds a nanny murdered in the ladies' room -- and then it turns out that the dead "nanny" is an impostor.

What sets it apart: This charming 23rd book in a British historical cozy series features more diverse characters than are often found in the genre.

Starring: Frances, the wealthy 27-year-old American Countess of Harleigh, whose titled British husband married her for her money and then died in another woman's bed (a fact Frances hid to avoid scandal).

What happens: To the dismay of her greedy in-laws, Frances and daughter Rose go to London, where Frances' younger sister Lily arrives, ready for her first season -- but the police also appear, having gotten an anonymous letter indicating that Frances' husband was murdered.

What happens: An American businessman pays a record amount for a painting and is then fatally stabbed in his opulent room at the Grand Raj. Though the hotel managers and some of the cops prefer the suicide theory (it's easier), one detective hires Chopra as a consultant.

Featuring: Single mom DS Alex Cupidi (who left the London Met for Kent amidst some upheaval) and her likable new constable, Jill Ferriter.

What happens: An elderly woman's murder leads the cops to her shocked son, who says he'd only met his mother for the first time the day before...and forensics say she was already dead by then. Then, the horrific murder of an immigrant fruit picker occurs nearby.

For fans of: the author's The Birdwatcher (Cupidi appears, though Salt Lane is called the 1st in a series), and police procedurals featuring complex female detectives, like Susie Steiner's DS Manon mysteries.

What happens: On the one-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man by a white police officer, the Catskills town of White River finds itself hosting protesters and dealing with more death when a sniper kills a police officer. So the smarmy local DA calls in PI Dave Gurney, a former NYPD detective known for his logical crime-solving.

Series alert:This is the suspenseful 6th Dave Gurney novel.

Reviewers say:White River combines "the hard-boiled social observations of noir fiction with the inscrutable pleasures of classic 'whodunit' puzzle-solving" (Kirkus Reviews).

If You Like: William Kent Krueger

William Kent Kruger's long-running Cork O'Connor mysteries feature a part-Ojibwe, part-Irish former Chicago cop, who now sometimes works as a PI in rural Minnesota. The books feature atmospheric descriptions, excellent plotting, and unadorned prose that belies the richness of character-driven stories that ground protagonists' lives in their relationships and work. The 17th Cork O'Connor novel, Desolation Mountain, just came out; if you're on the hold list, try one of these novels.

What happens: Now a PI in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, ex-Detroit cop Alex McKnight protects a wealthy scion with a gambling problem -- and receives messages presumably left by Maximilian Rose, who fired the bullet still lodged near Alex's heart...and who's still locked up.

Series alert: This award-winning debut is the 1st in a popular series; the 11th, Dead Man Running, is out this month.

Why William Kent Kruger fans will like it: you'll appreciate McKnight's sense of justice and the dangerous wilderness backdrop.

Starring: Aleut detective Kate Shugak, who lives in a remote area of Alaska, and her trusty half-wolf, half-husky dog Mutt are both shot; as Kate recovers, she works a missing persons case that turns into a murder investigation.

Series alert: This is the "richly nuanced, highly entertaining" (Publishers Weekly) 21st in the Kate Shugak series.

Why William Kent Kruger fans will like it: the crisp writing, the beautifully rendered landscapes, and the importance of friends and family to Kate and the story.

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